Staff Accountant
$60,000–$70,000 year
HybridChicago, Illinois, United States
Job Summary
Maintain accurate accounting records by processing routine transactions, managing accounts payable and receivable, and performing bank and vendor reconciliations. Prepare journal entries, support month-end and year-end close activities, and generate financial reports for management review. Assist with grant tracking, restricted fund documentation, and funder compliance in coordination with senior staff. Communicate professionally with vendors, funders, and internal stakeholders to resolve accounting questions and ensure timely financial processing. This role supports the day-to-day financial operations of the Westside Justice Center, a community-centered Legal Aid clinic committed to advancing access to justice.
Required Qualifications
- A minimum of an associate's degree in accounting, finance, business, or a related field
- Minimum of two years of professional accounting, bookkeeping, or finance experience
- Demonstrated hands-on experience applying accounting principles, bookkeeping practices, and financial recordkeeping in a professional setting
- Working experience with accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank and account reconciliations, journal entries, and general ledger activity
- Intermediate proficiency with spreadsheets, including Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets
- Ability to organize data, review details, and prepare basic schedules or reconciliations
- Hands-on experience using accounting software
- Strong attention to detail and ability to complete work accurately and efficiently
- Ability to organize, prioritize, and follow through on routine accounting tasks in a small-office environment
- Ability to communicate clearly and professionally, both in writing and verbally
- Ability to apply established accounting procedures and internal controls with sound judgment, accuracy, and appropriate follow-through
- Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills
- Reliability, discretion, and professionalism in handling financial information
- A willingness to learn, ask questions, and grow within a small finance team
- Strong follow-through and the ability to manage recurring deadlines
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, mission-focused environment with evolving priorities
- A collaborative approach and ability to support colleagues across departments
- Ability to communicate verbally
- Ability to spend extended time working on a computer
- Occasional need for local travel for work-related reasons
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree
- Minimum of three or more years of accounting or finance experience in a not-for-profit, community-based, government-funded, or mission-driven organization
- Hands-on experience with grant accounting, restricted fund tracking, funder payment documentation, allocation support, and compliance-related recordkeeping
- Experience supporting month-end and year-end close, audit preparation, financial reporting packages, and documentation requests from external funders or auditors
- Strong working knowledge of QuickBooks or similar accounting software
- Intermediate to advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills, including formulas, filters, pivot tables, reconciliations, schedules, and financial data review
- Experience working in a small finance team where the role requires initiative, sound judgment, confidentiality, and the ability to manage multiple recurring accounting deadlines
- QuickBooks experience
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